The present invention relates, in general, to accessing the interior of buildings and dwellings and, more particularly, rapidly breaching a barrier to access the interior.
Various authorities including federal, local, state, the military and emergency medical units frequently require rapid access to the interior of structures such as houses, apartments, office buildings and the like. Quick access can be necessary to surprise criminal or terrorist occupants. In emergency situations, occupants can be endangered by fire or chemicals and need to be reached quickly. Hence, medical emergency respondents can require rapid access to provide medical assistance. Typically, the fastest method of gaining access to a structure is via a door, gate and the like, referred to hereafter as a barrier. Often the barrier is locked or does not open freely for various reasons. This can preclude rapid access. Hence, various methods and devices have been used to rapidly breach locked barriers. These methods can range from using charged explosive devices to employing ram devices.
Ram devices are used to strike the barrier and are applied to a target or a preferred sweet-spot referred to as the breach point. The success of rapidly breaching the barrier depends on correctly selecting the breach point. The selection of the breach point can depend on a number of factors such as the type of barrier, present physical state of the barrier, the location of underlying metal structures, the location of the barrier handle (e.g., door knob), the position of the hinges, obstructions adjacent to the barrier and the like. For example, selecting a breach point adjacent to a metal member can result in inadequately breaching the barrier. Quickly breaching the barrier is also highly dependent on the amount of energy transferred from the ram device to the breach point. The energy, or more particularly, the transferred kinetic energy is a function of the square of the velocity of the ram device. Hence, the kinetic energy imparted onto the barrier is substantially dependent on the velocity of the ram device on contacting the barrier.
In order to administer the ram device at the highest possible velocity, a user should secure an optimal grip to the ram device. Generally, a person's optimal handle grip takes place when a grip object's circumference is approximately equal to the distance from the tip of the third finger to the distal crease of the palm. Otherwise, a poor grip called either an under-grip or over-grip can occur when the grip object is too large or small, respectively. Further, the motion of the user's hand(s) typically continues with the ram device after penetration of the barrier. This can expose the user's hands to injury, resulting from contacting a portion of the barrier or at least a portion of a corner of an adjacent wall and the like. For at least this reason, the user normally has a tendency to be cautious due to the potential for hand injury. As a result, the user typically swings the ram device at a lower velocity, thereby not quickly penetrating the barrier in many situations.
Hence, there is a need for a ramming device that can be optimally gripped and safely swung at the highest possible velocity to rapidly penetrate a barrier.